1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to liners for vehicle storage areas and, more particularly, to a flexible adjustable liner for interior storage areas of station wagons, minivans and sports utility vehicles (SUVs).
2. Description of the Background
Conventional truck bed liners have long been used to protect the truck bed or its contents from the elements. Traditionally, conventional truck bed liners have been made of canvas, or other durable material, to withstand rain and other inclement weather. With the increasing popularity of sport utility vehicles (SUVs), there became an increasing need for cargo bed liners for a different purpose. Rather than protecting the exposed truck bed and/or contents from the elements, SUV cargo bed liners are necessary to protect the SUV interior from damage caused by the cargo being hauled. The same need arises in the context of station wagons and minivans. The interiors of SUVs, station wagons and minivans are made to be comfortable and attractive to the driver and passengers, and yet utilitarian for hauling cargo. Indeed, for many people, the attraction of an SUV is its ability to easily transform from a comfortable passenger vehicle to a vehicle that can haul equipment and other materials that do not fit into a standard vehicle. However, many SUV's have luxury interior features such as carpeting or leather, trundle seats, and other features that are otherwise left exposed when hauling cargo. Thus, there is a need for an easily-deployable liner to protect the interior cargo area of the SUV when filled with cargo rather than passengers. On the other hand, such a liner must be readily removable and/or stowable when passengers are present. Unlike exterior truck bed liners, SUV/station wagon/minivan cargo bed liners must serve multiple purposes: they should be water resistant, water tight, sturdy yet flexible, easily installed and removed, and capable of covering, without damaging, substantially the entire cargo storage area.
The general concept of an expandable cargo liner for SUVs is also well known, and has been implemented using a variety of different approaches and materials.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,909 to Wise shows a removable bed liner comprising interattachable panels. The panels include a pair of side walls, a front wall, a back wall, and a floor. One or more of the panels may be selectively used at a time. Each of the panels is attached to the other panel by hook-and-loop fasteners or by zippers. The panels are removably attached to the vehicle cargo area by magnets, conventional fasteners such as screws, rivets, or snaps, or by hook-and-loop fasteners.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,710 to Falciani shows an expandable protective liner for vehicles with floor, opposing side walls, a tail gate portion, and a seat back portion. The liner is flexible and has bi-fold lines formed across each of the side panels and the planar member so that the side panels and planar member can be partially folded over one another to change the length of liner. The preferred material for the expandable liner is a heavy duty vinyl coated polyester fabric, and the side panels are formed with a plurality of eyelets. To secure the expandable protective liner to the rear cargo area of the vehicle, a plurality of suction cups with hooks are provided. Each of the suction cups is secured to the windows and hold the liner by its eyelets.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,574 to Selvey shows a removable protective liner for vehicles adapted to fit the rear bed of vehicles such as Blazers, Broncos, Cherokees, etc. The liner is formed of vinyl or naugahide and is attached by Velcro, mating snaps, or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,671 to Allen shows a low modulus cargo bed liner, affixed to the vehicle's cargo bed by several Velcro-type fasteners, in which rigidified carpeting material is thermoformed into a floor covering piece, a tail gate covering piece, and two side covering pieces.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,911,253 to R. J. Dewey shows a trunk liner that uses a tongue-in-groove mounting system.
U.S. Patent Application No. 20040164579 by Sims, Earnest J. Jr. shows an automotive trunk hauling liner for protecting the finished surfaces of the cargo carrying area of a vehicle. The lining is formed of a puncture resistant protective sheet generally formed in the shape of the cargo carrying space. A variety of fastening devices around the periphery of the sheet are suggested to attach and hold it in place, including Velcro, clamps, adhesive tapes, magnets, buttons, buckles, zippers, snaps, cable, string, ropes, hooks, metal or other material even pins. It can also be installed with frames made of plastic, metal, wood, or other materials, that fit in the trunk. Also, this liner can be designed to fit the contour of a vehicle trunk or one size fits all, according to the style of vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,206,443 to Konop et al. shows a motor vehicle storage area liner divided into an integrally attached bottom panel, a back panel, two side panels, and a front panel. The back and front panels each include folding tabs with engage slots formed on the side panels to hold the back, front and side panels in a perpendicularly aligned position. Hook and loop connector strips may be used in place of the tabs and slots.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,281 to Altmann shows an interior cargo area liner having a floor, walls, a roof, and possible gate and/or rear cover. An opening is provided in the liner to allow easy access to the interior cargo area located within the liner. The opening of the liner may be closed by attaching the gate and/or rear cover.
Each of these prior art references offer a vehicle cargo bed liner with attachment means. However, none of these devices teach a flexible adjustable liner for station wagons, minivans and SUVs comprised of a water-resistant material with sealed bottom and side panels to prevent spillage or leakage into the storage area, that employs an adjustable tether-support system. It has been found that a suspension-type tether support system for a flexible adjustable liner is better capable of accommodating the various internal configurations of station wagons, minivans and SUVs in order to conform the liner to the entire storage area. This is accomplished herein by the adjustable liner of the present invention, which is suspended at its periphery by a system of cords that are attached to the sides of the vehicle. The cords are adjustable in length and are set by spring-detent cinches to vary the coverage of the liner across the cargo area.